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Sweet Leda’s latest album Let It In deserves tons of attention and hundreds of accolades. The fat, lush sounds of the direct-to-tape recording process captured the layers of power and intensity behind these songs. If you’ve seen Sweet Leda live, you’ll feel the heat off this record. If you’re curious what all the buzz and awards are about, it’s time to Let It In and turn it up! You’ll find chances later to have a quiet moment with the record. Your first play should be loud as hell. Wherever you do that, do it to it.

Julie Cymek wrote these songs and sings them with command. She belts in the same weight class as Dana Fuchs, Grace Potter, Sister Sparrow and Joan Osborne. Jaime Horrigan on bass can thump it or go all melodious on you. He’s a double-threat on beatbox too. Omar El Dieahy is my favorite guitarist I know. He plays these crazy prototype guitars and while he invents new tones and textures, he never loses the song or lets it get impersonal. Don Boyette on drums is The Pocket. Dude is all sweet spot and grace, a drummer’s drummer. Joining Sweet Leda on two album tracks, as he often does live, is tenor sax giant Ron Holloway. How lucky for us all! You can Google him now or after you hear him, but you will.

Here’s the ten-song playlist and a thing or two about that thing they do: sweet, sexy, funky rock with soul.

“Resolutions:” one of the band’s resolutions for the record must be to let Omar turn it up! You’ll figure out right away that this band means what it says.

“Go Get Your Money:” Omar and Ron Holloway earn it one this one. They go and they get it!

“Fake It:” no posers need apply! If you can’t be real with the open-hearted people in Sweet Leda, you can’t be real. Whoever you are, I don’t want to know you either.

“Make It Happen:” get off your ass! What’s stopping you?

“She’s Not Coming Home:” I think you blew it mister. This is a song for a woman wronged.

“Baby:” one hot, slow-burning torch of a song about making love. Julie didn’t write it for you but you’ll believe she did. Deep down believe.

“Bad Boy:” one hot rock song for the bad girls in the house! Bad hasn’t sounded so good since Donna Summer.

“Let It In:” five senses and a whole world right in front of you. Seize something and hang on!

“Something:” by George Harrison…a big romantic version. It’s a love song to a love song. Omar!

Those last words are Julie’s and could well describe the album. Sweet Leda has plenty of reason to hold their heads high with the release of Let It In and the record should definitely keep their careers moving on and up. But they could serve us all well as a motto for life. There is great beauty in life and we need to let it in. When it sparks our curiosity, we need to act on it. And when people bring the ugly, we need to let it go. Crank up your copy of Let It In and proceed loud and proud! Buy it now at SweetLeda.com!

All photographs and digital-oil images here are the work and property of Dan Gillespie and DGital. Used with permission. See other spectacular albums at https://www.facebook.com/dgital.me/timeline or for consultation email dgital.me@icloud.com